Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FULTON, Mo.— The William Woods University volleyball team split its season opening tri-match on Tuesday night, as the Owls fell to William Penn University in four sets (17-25, 25-13, 23-25, 21-25) but responded with a comeback win in a five-set thriller against Central Methodist University (25-11, 21-25, 18-25, 27-25, 15-10).

William Woods 1 William Penn University 3
In the first set, the Statesmen (1-3) and the Owls (1-1), went back-and-forth early on, but it was William Penn holding onto a 12-11 advantage. The Statesmen went on a 10-3 run and closed out the Owls, taking the first set 25-17.

Each team totaled 14 kills in the opening set, with William Penn earning an attack percentage of .778, while WWU held an attack percentage of .417.

The second set was all William Woods, as the Owls jumped out to a 10-3 advantage, capped off by an Abbi McKnelly kill. The freshman, from Jefferson City, Missouri, made an impact in her first game wearing the WWU uniform, as she totaled 13 kills, three digs and was second on the team in attack percentage (.385).

WWU closed out the set on a 15-10 run and evened the match at one game apiece.  The Owls totaled 17 kills in the second game, while WP was limited to six kills and an attack percentage of .074.

The Owls continued to roll in the beginning of the third set, as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead and looked to take a one game advantage on the Statesmen. WWU gained some more breathing room, as they extended its lead to 17-9, however, William Penn was not going to go quietly, as they went on a 13-5 run and tied the game up at 22-all.

After both teams' went point-for-point to keep it tied at 23-23, the Statesmen completed the comeback, taking the final two points of the set, helped out by two Owls attack errors and won the all-important third set 25-23.

The Owls had a 12-7 kill advantage in the third set over William Penn, but the team committed a game-high 10 errors, which limited its attack percentage to a mere .057.

In the fourth set, it was William Penn this time jumping out early on the Owls, taking a 11-6 advantage. The Statesmen would push its lead out to 16-9, but the Owls battled back into the game, going on a 9-3 run, with Kristen Bauer capping it off with one of her 13 kills in the match, cutting the deficit down to just one at 19-18.

William Penn, however, held off the charging Owls and took the fourth set and the match 25-21.

The Statesmen had an attack percentage of .238 and were led by the duo of Kylie Giger and Kayce Skocko, whom combined for 20 of the teams' 39 kills. Leyra Jusino contributed 29 assists and Danielle Breeher led the team with 18 digs.

Another freshman for the Owls, Abby Ferguson, also reached the double-digit kill plateau in her debut, as she totaled 10 kills. Freshman setter Brittney Engelbrecht added an impressive 47 assists, while senior Abbie O'Mara totaled 16 digs.

William Woods 3 Central Methodist University 2
In the first set against Central Methodist (2-4), the Owls were in control right from the get-go, as they jumped out to a 16-9 lead on the Eagles. WWU would make it look easy the rest of the way, as the team finished the set on a 9-2 run and took the opening game 25-11.

The Owls totaled 20 kills, had an attack percentage of .607 and committed just three errors in the first set, while the Eagles were held to just five kills.

In the second set, the Eagles took control this time around, holding an 18-12 lead over WWU, but the Owls went on a 6-1 run and narrowed the advantage down to one at 19-18, after an attack error by CMU. Despite the hard fought effort by the Owls, CMU took the game 25-21.

The Eagles rattled off 13 kills in the second set, while WWU totaled 12, but added eight errors, to CMU's four.

Central Methodist built off its win in the second game and took it into the third set, as after leading 9-8, the Eagles broke the game open, grabbing a 19-12 lead and went on for the 25-18 win. Both teams' combined for 25 kills in the second set, but the Eagles committed just two errors and had an attack percentage of .545, while WWU had six errors and an attack percentage of .192.

Needing a win in the fourth set, the Owls took a 10-8 lead, after junior Emily Becker added one of her 15 kills in the game. CMU and WWU would continue to battle with long rallies and neither team was willing to give an inch, but it was still the Eagles holding a 23-20 lead over the Owls.

Then, after a kill by Ferguson, an attack error by CMU and another kill by McKnelly, the Owls evened up the score at 23-23. The Eagles would quickly regain the one-point advantage, thanks to a kill by Julia Weber, but McKnelly responded with a kill of her own to keep the Owls in the game.

The Owls would then take its first lead of the set, since the score was 10-9 earlier, as McKnelly continued to showcase her skills in front of the capacity crowd inside Anderson Arena, as her kill gave WWU a 25-24 lead.

The Eagles would again tie the game up on a kill by Dana Peters, but the Owls wanted to force that fifth set and they accomplished it, as Ferguson's kill gave the team a 26-25 lead and WWU went on to take the fourth set, thanks to a set error, to give the Owls the 27-25 win.

The Owls rode the momentum they gained from the fourth set, and took a comfortable 9-3 lead over CMU, after Bauer added the kill to give the team a six-point lead. The Eagles, however, shocked WWU and its fans, going on a 7-0 run and took a 10-9 lead.

William Woods would not be denied in its tri-match, however, as after Bauer tied the game with a kill, the team rattled off five straight points, taking the set and the match 15-10.

WWU had an attack percentage of .285 in the game, and were led by freshman McKnelly totaling a career-high 18 kills. Becker, a Belleville, Illinois, native, also had a strong outing, totaling 15 kills and a game-high .609 attack percentage.

Engelbrecht added 45 assists, while McKenna Hisel and Shelby Hinshaw combined for 29 digs on the defensive side of the net.

The Owls will return to action this weekend in the Bellevue University Tournament. The team will take on Clarke College at 1 p.m. on Friday August 29^th and follow that up by squaring off with host Bellevue University at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Owls will face Baker University at 11 a.m., and then Northwestern College at 5 p.m.  
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Thursday afternoon for a full preview of this weekend's action.

Tweet ##Owls_VB